As ointment bases applied on oral mucosa, there are generally and widely used those ointments comprising a hydrophobic ointment base (e.g. petrolatum or plastibase) and an adhesive substance (e.g. sodium carboxymethyl cellulose or sodium polyacrylate) in consideration of the action of saliva Kenalog for Use in Oral Cavity (trade name), a product of SQUIBB JAPAN INC.; Aphtasolon for Dental Use (or for Use in Oral Cavity, trade name), a product of Showa Yakuhin Kako Co., Ltd.; and Dexarutin Ointment (trade name), a product of Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.!. These ointments, however, have been insufficient as sustained-release ointments. The inventors of the present application have previously filed JP-A-4-13616 in which they have disclosed a sustained-release oral ointment which comprises a hydrophobic ointment base, an adhesive substance, a polyhydric alcohol and a drug. However, there has not yet been known an ointment base which comprises a hydrophobic ointment base, an adhesive substance and an aluminum compound.
Therefore, it has been desired to develop a sustained-release oral ointment which has applicability to an oral mucosa, particularly to a periodontal pocket, sustained-release properties to supply a drug to affected part over a long period of time while maintaining the concentration thereof at a sufficiently high level, and enhanced ratio of utilization of drug (the ratio of the total amount of drug released to affected part to the total amount of drug in the composition applied).
Hence, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention has an object of providing a novel sustained-release oral ointment.